


In the Land Before Time: If We Hold On Together

by ashtraythief



Series: The Dinosaur Chronicles [3]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dinosaurs, Crack, M/M, Schmoop, Switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-05-02
Packaged: 2018-01-21 16:29:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1556810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashtraythief/pseuds/ashtraythief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared and Jensen have settled into life in their new territory. With settling down new problems arise, but an unforeseen event brings them closer together than ever. Or: How they expanded the herd again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Land Before Time: If We Hold On Together

**Author's Note:**

> Written in honor of [](http://cassiopeia7.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://cassiopeia7.livejournal.com/)**cassiopeia7** ’s birthday.  
> Thanks to linvro21 for the beta.
> 
> Once again I took many liberties when it comes to the dinos, their living environment and the time they lived. As for the sex part, as long as no one can prove otherwise, I’m going with the possibility of gay dino sex.
> 
> Disclaimer: No dinos were harmed in the writing of this fic

 

“... and then I found this really pretty lake that a lot of other ones came to drink at, but once I was there, they only used the other side and every time I came near… But enough with the bad memories, now I have you guys!”

Sophia beamed, and Jared smiled back at her. It had been a while since she had joined their little herd and Jared couldn’t be happier.

Sophia was still eternally grateful that she’d finally found a herd, she was a good influence on Chad, making him more lively and she was excellent chatting company. She was so smitten with Chad she even listened attentively to all their plant evaluation stories. Jared was a tad jealous about that, Jensen was never really interested in what he ate, he tended to say “it’s green, Jared, it’s all green.”

Since Sophia also didn’t hunt a lot, mostly waded into the lake for fish and other creatures living there, she didn’t have to leave for long hunting expeditions like Jensen did. Now Jared wouldn’t give up his beautiful mate for anything, but seeing Sophia and Chad together, he couldn't help being a bit envious sometime.

Just then, a loud roar sounded through the forest. It was a deep, soft tremor shaking the vegetation and Jared smiled reflexively. Jensen. Judging by the sound, he was still a long way off, but Jared enjoyed hearing his voice nevertheless. He raised his head and called back.

He went on to graze a little deeper into the forest then. Usually he stayed close to the shore and Sophia - as by Jensen’s’ orders who always worried about Jared when he wasn’t around - but with Jensen so close, he could venture further away.

Chad was already there, ripping large ferns out of the ground and chewing happily.

“You know what the only thing is our herd is missing?” Jared asked his friend.

Chad slurped all the ferns into his mouth before looking at Jared and shaking his head.

“A nesting ground,” Jared said wistfully. “Wouldn’t that be adorable, some little ones bumbling around here? Waiting for the eggs to crack, the little ones carefully climbing out. Then we could feed them and play with them and watch them grow up.”

For a moment Chad stared, then he shook his head. “I always knew you were a bit crazy. If that’s what you want though, I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out yet.” Then he went back to his ferns.

Jared sighed. He knew it wouldn’t work. Sophia was too different from Chad and Jared and Jensen were both male. Sophia and Jensen were both meat eaters, maybe they could - no. An angry hot feeling arose in Jared at the thought. He definitely did not want Jensen to mate with Sophia and fertilize her eggs. He loved Sophia, but Jensen was his. He would just have to live with the situation as it was. And it wasn’t that he was unhappy. It was just…

“Maybe Jensen would be around more if we had hatchlings, you know,” Jared said wistfully. “He’s always off on his hunting expeditions and I miss him!”

Chad stomped over to him and awkwardly rubbed his body against Jared’s in comfort.

“Jensen loves you,” he said. “Even if you guys don’t have eggs.”

“I know,” Jared answered with a sigh. That didn't mean he didn’t miss him when he was gone.

 

Jensen returned before the sun set. His belly was full, but he had displeased lines around his mouth.

“Everything okay?” Jared asked worriedly.

“Oh yeah, just peachy,” Jensen grumbled. “Except for how that damn critter keeps mooching off my kills and inviting all of his ‘lady friends’ to eat, just so he can get laid.”

“Hey,” Misha piped up, “it’s not like you eat the whole animal. You never even reach between all the bones, so really, it’s not like you have to starve.”

“It’s the principle of the thing,” Jensen huffed and rubbed up to Jared. “I missed you,” he rumbled. His voice had fallen lower, into that let’s-go-somewhere-where-we’re-alone register, but Jared was distracted.

“Do you have a lot of ladyfriends?” he asked Misha.

Misha fluffed up his fur. “Well, I wouldn’t say a lot. But I do have several dens where I can crash for the night, if you know what I mean.”

“That’s all very fascinating,” Jensen grumbled, “but can we go now?” He swung his tail over Jared’s, rubbing their bodies together.

“Soon, I just want to ask Misha some more questions.”

Jensen let out an annoyed huff. “Bad enough the critter keeps stealing my food, now he’s stealing my quality time too?”

“You’d have more of it, if you were around more,” Jared bit out before he could stop himself.

Jensen stared at him for a moment, before he turned around and stomped off into the forest without saying a word. Something heavy and nasty that felt suspiciously like guilt crawled around in Jared’s stomach, but he pushed it away. It was true, Jensen was gone a lot, especially now that Jared would really like to nest. Which Jensen, the insensitive meat-eater, didn’t even notice. So Jared ignored the hollow feeling in his gut and turned back to Misha.

“These lady friends of yours… do you ever fertilize their eggs?”

Misha laughed. “Jared, we don’t lay eggs.”

“What? But where do your hatchlings come from?”

“The females give birth to them, just like that, no eggs.”

Jared wrinkled his snout. “That sounds uncomfortable. Those poor hatchlings.”

Misha laughed again, then he looked at Jared inquiringly with his little blue eyes. “Why are you asking?”

“Oh, no reason.”

“I call trikeshit. You want some hatchlings of your own, don’t you?”

Jared looked down to the ground. “I want to be happy, I really do. I mean, I have Jensen and we have a great herd and a great territory, but yeah… recently I thought it would be nice. But we can’t, so I’ll have to deal.”

Misha tilted his head, then scratched his snout. “Hmmm,” was all he said though, before he climbed up a tree to sleep. Jared laid down in the underbrush and tried to sleep, but without Jensen’s bulk next to him, he just couldn’t.

After a while of restless rolling around and destroying half the vegetation in the process, he got up and followed Jensen's tracks. He found his mate lying flat on his belly on a mossy patch of forest ground, and Jared laid down beside him and scooted up close.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah, you did,” Jensen said, putting his tail over Jared’s. “And you’re right. I’ve been letting my hunting instinct get the better of me when I could get home quicker to you. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Jared said curling even closer into Jensen. “I don’t wanna curb your instincts. You’re doing it enough living with two herbivores.”

Jensen snorted and licked Jared’s snout. “I have many instincts when it comes to you, but eating has never been one of them.”

Jared grinned and wiggled closer. “Yeah? How about you show me what exactly your instincts tell you?”

“If you insist,” Jensen rumbled, getting up and standing above Jared’s head.

In the safety of their new territory and Sophia’s scent keeping every other meat-eater at bay, they had experimented quite a bit, and this part had become one of Jared’s favorites. He pushed his tongue out, so long and dexterous, usually used to grab plants, and licked over Jensen’s body, right between his legs over the sheath protecting his dinohood.

It only took a few strokes of his tongue to coax Jensen’s dick out of it’s sheath and then Jared could lick along the curved length, wrapping his tongue around the head and massaging it. Jensen was panting, breath coming quick and harsh, wheezing past his sharp teeth.

“Shit, you’re so amazing, so good Jay.”

Jared would be smug, if he wasn’t so aroused himself. Jensen’s proximity and the deep rumbled praise did that to him every time.

“Can I?” Jensen asked, before a moan interrupted whatever he wanted to say, when Jared used his curled tongue to rub like a vice up and down his dick.

“I wanna,” Jensen tried again, and Jared was pretty sure what his mate wanted to ask, but this was just too much fun. Not to mention the power high he got every time badass, sharp-teethed, long-clawed carnivore Jensen turned into a begging mess for Jared.

“Please, Jay, wanna fuck you.”

Usually they did it the other way round, but Jared certainly didn’t mind. Having Jensen’s sharp teeth so close to his neck while his lithe, strong body pressed him into the ground, that danger gave him a whole other rush.

So with a last flick of his tongue, Jared let go of Jensen’s dick and raised his tail.

Jensen scrambled to move behind him, licked over Jared’s hole, his broader tongue making him sloppy wet, and then he pushed inside.

Jared moaned at the stretch and Jensen stilled, claws resting carefully on Jared's back.

“You okay?”

Jensen was always so concerned for his safety. In answer, Jared pushed the air in his lungs out through his crest, and the vibrations made Jensen groan and move.

“Okay, okay, I got it,” Jensen breathed out. “Just gimme a moment here, don’t wanna come too fast.”

But Jared wanted, no needed fast now, needed the hard reassurance of them being close. He breathed through his crest again and again, low calls echoing through the forest until Jensen was pounding him into the forest floor, muscles of his strong thighs working furiously, tail swishing through the air and completely out of control.

Jared arched his back, trying to get Jensen deeper and reveled in the feeling of making Jensen fall apart.

Sharp pain scattered across his back, but it only enhanced the pleasure and Jared was so close. He rubbed himself over the mossy ground, friction on his own dick taking him higher when Jensen pushed in closer, changed the angle and finally hit that magical spot inside of Jared, making him see stars behind his closed eyelids when the pleasure crashed through him and he came all over the forest floor.

Jensen was predictably fussy when he realized he’d scratched Jared up enough to draw blood, but Jared didn’t want to come out of post-coital haze so he just batted Jensen’s snout, shushed him and drew him down next to him.

“No worrying, cuddling,” he ordered, eyes already closed again. Jensen huffed, but relented. Tangled up in each other, they fell asleep.

 

Jensen stayed at the lake for a few days and Jared took advantage, dragging him off into the woods to have sex every time his belly was full and he wouldn’t need to graze for a while. If Jensen thought his sudden spike in desire was weird, he didn’t say anything. And it wasn’t like he didn’t get a lot of orgasms out of it as well. Especially when Sophia wanted to follow the little river upstream to go looking for other fish and Chad joined her, they finally had some time again for crest riding, which was still Jensen’s favorite practice. Jared certainly didn’t mind, because pushing into his mates completely relaxed body afterwards, blissed out smile showing his sharp teeth was delicious.

But Jensen needed to hunt again soon and Jared waved him goodbye with sad eyes.

“I promise to hurry back, okay?” Jensen said and Jared shook his head, trying to be brave.

“You take all the time you need. You need to follow your instincts.”

Jensen straightened up and licked along Jared’s jaw. “My strongest instinct is to be with you,” he said and then he turned around and walked off into the forest.

From one of the high trees, a brown furball plopped down on Jensen’s back and he grumbled annoyed. Misha just squeaked happily and got comfortable on Jensen’s back.

“I’m not sharing my kill again with you and your posse,” Jensen grouched.

Jared heard Misha snicker. “Fine, fine. We won’t touch it, but if you can leave it alone for a while, we can eat the little jumpy ones when they show up to scavenge.”

“Deal,” Jensen said and then they disappeared into the treeline. Jared sighed and walked back to the meadow Chad was currently standing in, Sophia dozing next to him. Jared didn’t want to be alone now.

 

 

Jensen didn’t keep his promise.

“His only instinct is to be with me!” Jared mocked and hit a high fern with his tail. “He’s been gone longer than ever now, after I told him I miss him and he should be with me!”

Sophia and Chad listened in sympathy. Well, Sophia listened. Chad had gone back to grazing a while ago. To be fair though, Jared had been ranting about this topic for at least two days now, so he couldn’t blame Chad. Sophia apparently wanted to restore the harmony and tried to come up with new arguments why Jensen was gone so long.

“You know,” she said now, “maybe something happened to him. The world is a dangerous place and if he ran into another meat-eater, who knows what could happen.”

Jared’s stomach did a flip. “How is that supposed to help me?”

“Well, then at least Jensen would still love you.”

“But he’d be dead! Oh, I can’t even think about it.”

Except he could. Now that Sophia had planted the thought in his mind, he didn’t see Jensen prancing around, stalking herbivores anymore, no, now he saw him lying mangled and bloody on the ground, flank ripped open by sharp claws…

“No, no no! Jensen is fine, He’s just a stupid, ignorant lazy…” Jared broke off when the familiar trembling of the ground announced the return of his mte.

Despite his rant he dashed - or well walked quickly - into the trees. He needed to make sure Jensen was fine, then he’d chew him out for staying away for so long.

Jensen smiled tentatively as soon as he spotted him. He was carrying something in his claws, maybe he’d brought back unknown tasty fruits as he sometimes did, and Jared ignored it in favor of walking around him once, inspecting his scales.

“Erm, hello to you to?” Jensen asked.

“Shut up,” Jared huffed. “I was worried sick about you! But now that I see you’re completely unharmed and not lying bleeding on the forest floor, I really want to know where the fuck you’ve been the whole time. Did you eat an entire herd of long-necks?”

“What? No, I was just-”

“Oh, you were just!” Jared threw up his paws. He was so angry his crest was vibrating and not in the good way. “You’re always just going out for a snack. Just hunting for a bit. And then you have the nerve to tell me I am your most important instinct, while you wander off for days and leave me alone!”

Jensen was staring at him, snout opened and eyes wide. Misha had appeared on his shoulder, frantically shaking his head and waving his little arms.

“I don’t care what explanation you have now, I am done sitting around waiting for your philandering ass the whole time.”

Jensen’s jaws snapped shut. “Is that… is that really what you think?”

And it was just so freaking unfair that Jensen had the galls to look hurt, green eyes so big under their dashing ridge, arms drawn close to his body, still clutching whatever he was holding. He looked so small and insecure all of a sudden, the confident badass hunter gone under Jared’s tirade.

Jared deflated. “I… I don’t know what I’m supposed to think. I just know that every time you leave, it rips my heart out and I worry that you either get hurt or that someone else catches your eye. Someone you can go hunt with.”

Jensen carefully set his bundle to the ground and then stepped over to him, rubbing his head against Jared’s jaw.

“You are my mate. You and no one else. And nothing will ever change that. And I’m sorry you worry and that I was gone for so long this time.”

Jared nodded, swallowing around the lump of his throat. “Just don’t do it again, okay?”

“I promise,” Jensen said. “Do you want to know why I was gone so long this time?”

Jared looked down. Sitting on the forest floor was what looked to be a heap of big leaves.

“You brought me a new snack?”

Jensen shook his head. He fiddled with his claws for a bit, clicking them together in the way he only did when he was nervous.

“No. See, when I went hunting I stumbled across an intruder’s scent-”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, it was only one of those smaller ones with the little horn on the snout, nothing I can’t handle, and Misha seems to prefer meat-eater meat anyway-”

Misha nodded and Jared looked confused. “Since when do you two get along so well?”

“Anyway,” Jensen continued, “the fucker had already hunted and when I stumbled upon the remains of his kill… really, you just don’t do that, you don’t kill a mother. He was lucky he was already dead by then, otherwise I would’ve ripped his guts out while he was still breathing.”

Misha patted Jensen’s head.

“So I had to check on the nest, see if they were old enough to survive, but they hadn’t even hatched. And then, well Misha told me what you’d said about wanting hatchlings of your own and I know this is not the same, but I can’t give you hatchlings any other way, because really I love you, but I will not mate with Sophia for you, I can’t, you’re the only one for me, so Ibroughttheeggsbackandifyouwantwecanraisethemtogether.”

Jared stared at Jensen, then at the bundle of leaves. He looked at Misha who grinned and nodded and then back into Jensen’s anxious face. Then he looked down at the bundle again. Eggs. Jensen had brought him eggs.

“I mean, if you don’t want them, I understand, I can bring them back and try to find someone else who’ll take them, although that might be difficult, but-”

“Jensen!” Jared stopped him.

“Yeah?”

“You brought me eggs.”

“I did.”

Jared drew a deep breath, trying to curb his excitement. There was one very important question he needed to ask first. “Did you bring me eggs, because I want hatchlings? Because if you don’t want to raise kids, I won’t force you to do that.”

“You know what he said when we found the eggs?” Misha suddenly piped up, not deterred by Jensen’s death glare. “He said, oh look, Misha, those poor eggs. They’ll die if we don’t take them in. And wouldn’t that be great, having hatchlings of our own? I mean, Jared never said anything and I didn’t either and I knew we couldn’t, but I always thought it would be great to have hatchlings. And Jared would make such a good parent. And you would make such a good uncle Misha, you’d be amazing, because you are such an amazing-”

Jensen turned his head and roared so loud, Misha slid off his shoulder and landed with an indignant squeak in the underbrush.

“Jensen, is that true?” Jared asked.

“No, I never said that the annoying furball is amazing.”

“Hey, you complimented my hunting skills when I went after the little jumpy ones that were annoying you,” Misha squeaked.

Jared ignored their banter and bent down to the leaves, carefully sliding them apart and revealing five beautiful eggs. They were cream colored with dark spots on top.

“Maybe they’ll have your freckles,” Jared grinned and Jensen groaned. “What kind are they anyway?”

Jensen shook his head. “I don’t know. The mother’s body was almost unrecognizable. Something roughly my size I’d say.”

“Herbivore or carnivore?” Jared asked.

Jensen shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure. Would it matter?”

Jared shook his head and grinned. “No. I just want them to be healthy. And I’m gonna raise our kids herbivore anyway.”

Jensen snorted. “Not if I have any say in it.”

Chad took this moment to stumble into the clearing, looking at the eggs in wonder. “Oh, Jensen finally laid eggs! How exciting! After all the times you tried it finally worked. You know, I wondered if you’d ever get it right, because the crest is not really meant for egg making, but now it worked! I gotta tell Sophia, she will be so excited! Sophia!”

Jensen stared after Chad completely flabbergasted. “How does he... I mean does he think… I’m female?”

“Well,” Misha piped up, “you are the one taking it-”

Jensen roared again. “Does everybody know about our sexlife?”

Misha blinked several times. “You guys aren’t exactly subtle, you know. Or quiet.”

Jared tried to suppress his grin. “C’mon Jen, let’s go build a nest.”

“I hope you know how to do that,” Jensen said, picking up the leaf construction. “Cause I have no idea. No instincts for it.”

Jared searched his brain, but came up empty. “Maybe we should ask Sophia,” he suggested.

 

 

Sophia was elated to help. They found a safe spot not far away from the lake’s edge. It was a little natural hollow, surrounded by three large trees to one side and open to the other, so they could have an eye on it. Jensen and Jared alternated in nest-watching duty, Jared eating at high speed and Jensen hunting faster than ever in his life. During the night, they slept next to the nest and Misha watched over them. There were others who specialized in egg eating, and Jared and Jensen would protect their eggs.

The first time one of the little feathered egg snatchers had come around, Jared had been alone. He’d managed to fight the thief off and defend all his eggs by almost standing over the nest and hitting the intruder with his tail. Then a second one had shown up and Jared had been close to a panic, because they were so fast and nimble, darting between his legs and he’d already seen an egg getting carried off, but then Chad had shown up and just swept them away with his tail.

When Jensen returned that night from his hunting trip and Jared told him what had happened, Jensen immediately turned around and walked back into the forest, following the thieves’ tracks. He returned the next morning, tired and snout still bloody and exhaustedly plopped down next to Jared. Usually, Jared would tell him to go wash up before he came near him with his carnivorous snout, but Jensen had defended their eggs, so Jared just laid his head on Jensen’s still tense shoulders and hummed, sending soft vibrations through Jensen's body until he fell asleep.

After that, Jensen stayed even closer to the eggs, walking patrols and Jared thought it was cute right up until he noticed he could see Jensen’s ribs. Sure, Jared had lost a bit of weight as well - being a parent seriously cut into his feeding time - but Jensen was running himself into the ground. He wouldn’t budge on his protection detail though, not when he couldn’t be sure if he’d manage to kill all the egg snatchers.

Sophia started to walk patrols as well then, and she shared some of her kills with Jensen even though he found fish to be disgusting.

Then, finally, the first egg cracked.

Jared had been feeding a short distance off, when Misha came running to fetch him. Jared rarely ran, but he did now. Jensen was crouching in front of the nest, eyes shining with happiness as one of the eggs moved, cracks marring the surface.

Jared went down on all fours to see better and touch a paw to Jensen’s trembling arms. Jensen gave him a shaky smile and then they watched in amazement as a small part of the shell broke off and was pushed away. Even Misha had stopped his usual incessant chatter.

Distantly, Jared was aware of Sophia and Chad looking as well, but he had only eyes for the little head emerging from the egg. The hatchling wasn’t bigger than his paw, its slim snout pushing out, large intelligent eyes looking around. It made a tiny squeaking noise and Jensen rumbled in greeting. Jared felt himself making soothing noises through his crest and together they welcomed their first baby into the world.

“Hey, little one,” Jensen said softly and carefully reached out to scratch the broken part of the shell away.

The baby was startled for a moment, then it pushed its head up against Jensen’s claw. Jensen stared in wonder. Then the shell cracked in the middle and the brown-scaled hatchling crawled out. It had a lithe body, walking on four legs, but it was clear he could also walk on two. Jared reached out a paw.

“C’mere baby, come to daddy.”

The little baby eyed him warily, looking between Jensen and him, then decided that okay, apparently it had two parents and stumbled over to Jared, bumping against his paw. Jared’s heart clenched in the best possible way. Even better, the baby’s long snout only had very small short teeth.

“Ha! It’s a herbivore.”

Jensen squinted then grinned smugly. “It’s totally a meat-eater. Look at those claws.”

Their baby had indeed little claws on his hands, the one on his thumb much more pronounced.

Jared grinned. “Nope. Herbivore. I know some other grass eaters who live out in the plains who look exactly like that. We have a little plant eater!”

Jensen grumbled, not convinced, but then the second egg cracked and the diet debate was forgotten in favor of watching their other babies push out of their eggs. In the end, they had five wonderful, healthy babies, crawling around their nest uncoordinatedly, looking for bodily contact whenever they could, bumping against Jared’s and Jensen's snouts and paws. Sophia and Chad also went in for a bit of cuddling and Misha pronounced himself to be a baby pillow and slept in a heap with the little hatchlings.

The food debate was reignited when the babies were hungry for the first time. Jared went looking for the softest and tastiest leaves, chewed them up carefully, then fed them to his babies. They didn’t seem too happy with them, but they ate it.

Jensen went on a quick hunt and dragged a whole leg back with him. Jared was not amused, usually he made Jensen eat far away from their living grounds, but the babies seemed to like his chewed up meat - at least as much as they had liked Jared’s plants.

The first few weeks it wasn’t a huge problem. The babies didn’t seem elated, no matter if Jared brought ferns or leaves or fruits, if Jensen brought two-legged or four-legged prey, but they ate it. Misha occasionally brought them insects, and while they enjoyed playing with the dragonflies they didn’t seem to enjoy eating them. Jared and Jensen were haunted by their babies desperate cries for tastier food and reached the end of their rope.

“We have tried everything,” Jensen said despondently. “And they can eat, they just don’t want to. What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” Jared answered miserably. “But if the crying doesn’t stop soon, either my heart or my ears are gonna break.”

Currently Chad was entertaining the kids, swinging his tail above their heads while they jumped up, trying to catch it.

“You should really tell us what you want to eat,” he whispered to them. “Mommy and Daddy are going crazy.” The babies chirped in answer.

It was a testament to Jensen's exhausted state that he didn’t protest the mommy moniker. Despite finally clueing Chad in to the fact that Jensen was not a female and had in fact not laid the eggs, he still called him mommy, something that Misha and Sophia quickly had picked up on, albeit for different reasons.

Sophia thought it made sense to have a mommy and a daddy - “Daddy and daddy is way too confusing,” she’d said - and Misha just enjoyed riling Jensen up. Jared had caught himself a few times calling Jensen mommy as well in front of their kids, but really, Jensen was so caring and protective, much more than Jared had ever seen in the males of his herd, he thought it fit.

Jensen had tried to explain to him that is was because most carnivores raised their hatchlings together, but by then it was too late. Jensen still fought it, but no one listened to him.

 

The next morning, Jared went off to find some of those fruits the kids at least seemed to like. They devoured them quickly - they were growing fast now and needed a lot of nutrition - but they still cried for something more.

Sophia came padding out of the lake then, water still running down her flanks and a big fish dangling from the snout. She dropped it into the nest and the babies sniffed at it for not even a heartbeat before they sunk their little teeth into it and began devouring the fish.

“You two are morons,” she said lovingly to Jared and Jensen, watching the little ones tearing apart the smelly fish.

“But they don’t have sails! And a thumb claw!” Jared said incredulously.

Jensen tilted his head. “Hmm, but it make kind of sense. They have the same snout form as Sophia. Maybe there are more fish eaters out there.”

With the revelation that they neither had herbivores, nor carnivores - although Jensen said they eat living beings, so of course they’re carnivores and Jared shooting back that they also like fruit - the feeding process shifted, leading to the most hilarious days in Jared’s life when Sophia tried to teach Jensen how to fish.

“Careful now, careful,” Misha murmured, “can’t make too many waves, the fish feel every disruption. Oh, too big a step here, see how he sank in deep? Now he’ll have to wait a while for the lake to settle.”

Jensen shot them a murderous glare from where he was standing hip deep in the water, trying not to move.

Jared munched on a few seeds and was very glad that Jensen was the one with the natural hunter instincts.

“Okay, here we go again,” Misha said, squinting at the water. “Slow, yeah, that’s it, breathe with the water’s rhythm. Now eyes on the surface and…”

Jensen suddenly exploded in motion, head snapping forward and into the water.

“What a lunge, people, but if that was good enough?” Misha exclaimed.

Jensen emerged with an empty snout and Misha made a grave face. “Apparently not.”

“Be nice,” Jared said, smile tugging at his lips, “he’s new at this.”

Jensen growled and stomped out of the water. He only stopped right next to them and then shook himself, spraying them with cool lake water. Misha was immediately drenched, fur clinging to his body.

“Brrr,” he said and shook himself, fur fluffing up in all directions. Jensen leaned down and picked him up by the scruff off his hair, carrying him over to the nest and unceremoniously dumping him in with the hatchlings.

“Make yourself useful and cuddle with the little plagues until I manage this water hunting thing.” Then he determinedly walked back to the lake.

Sophia had more tips on hunting, but Jensen just shook his head. “My body is built differently than yours, your long snout glides smoother into the water. I have to figure something else out.”

He waded in deeper then until only the top of his head peeked out, but the surface continued to ripple. It took Jared a while to realise Jensen was twitching his tail in front of his body and he wasn’t sure why, until suddenly Jensen moved his head underwater and snapped his jaws shut. When he emerged he had a triumphant smile on his face and a fin was peeking out between his teeth.

He was almost combusting with pride when he dropped the fresh catch into the nest and the little hatchlings started to tear into it.

Halfway through one of them looked up, grinned at Jensen in a toothy smile and chirped - clear as day - “Mommy!”

Jensen’s snout fell open, Jared almost stumbled over his forelegs on the way over there in excitement, because “oh my, Jensen they said their first word!” while Misha toppled over with laughter.

Jensen looked a bit miffed, but when the little one hopped over the edge of the nest for the first time, rolled over itself a few times and came to a bumping rest between Jensen’s toes and said “mommy” again. He smiled brightly and Jared thought he could even detect a hint of shining wetness in his eyes.

 

It only took their kids two more days to master the words ‘daddy’, ‘Chad’, ‘Mish’, ‘Soph’ and ‘fish’ and for all of them to crawl out of the nest. They had their claws full with them, the little ones curiously scrambling around, trying to test out the lake even though they couldn’t swim yet.

Fortunately they discovered quickly that Jared’s crest made and excellent playground, Misha was a great wrestling partner and one after another, Jensen took them out to teach them how to hunt. Jared still snuck the occasional fruit into their diet and he was happy to see that while they loved going after little fish in shallow water, they weren’t that keen to learn Jensen's on-land stalking techniques.

In the evenings, they all plopped down in one exhausted scaly heap with a little furball on top.

“Maybe we can ask Sophia and Chad to babysit tomorrow,” Jensen rumbled quietly and licked Jared’s snout. “It’s time for some grown-up time.”

Jared hummed through his crest.

“Tease,” Jensen said and, “not in front of the kids.”

“Mommy, daddy, sleep now,” their eldest squeaked and Jared closed his eyes happily, patting the heap of kids lying between them.

“We should probably name them,” he said and felt Jensen huff in amusement.

“We should. Tomorrow.”

Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow had never been such a bright prospect before. Jared smiled and fell asleep to eight different patterns of snoring. They were a real herd now. A little bit patch-worky maybe, and with their own unique set of problems, but Jared wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  Dinos appearing in this fic
> 
>  
> 
> [Allosaurus!Jensen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allosaurus)  
> [Parasaurolophus!Jared](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasaurolophus)  
> [Stegosaurus!Chad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stegosaurus)  
> [Spinosaurus!Sophia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinosaurus)  
> [Repenomamus!Misha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repenomamus)  
> [Procompsognathus!annoying little jumpy ones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procompsognathus)  
> [Ceratosaurus!horned meat-eater](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratosaurus)  
> [Oviraptor!egg-snatcher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oviraptor)
> 
>  
> 
> [Baryonyx!kids](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baryonyx)


End file.
